Fidel Castro is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008.

Castro is a controversial and highly divisive world figure, being lauded as a champion of anti-imperialism, humanitarianism, socialism and environmentalism by his supporters, but his critics have accused him of being a dictator whose authoritarian administration has overseen multiple human rights abuses both at home and abroad.

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

Queen Elizabeth is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, and head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations.

On the death of her father in 1952, she became Head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the first to be televised.

Her reign of 60 years is the second-longest for a British monarch; only Queen Victoria has reigned longer.